


a wild girlfriend appears

by brightclam



Series: domestic yugioh [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Internalized Transphobia, M/M, Multi, Other, agender atem, genderqueer Ryou, killer queens mai and ishizu, trans girl Mai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 16:50:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11536365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightclam/pseuds/brightclam
Summary: Mai Valentine loves her girlfriend. The idea of telling their friends and family about their relationship, she loves less so.





	a wild girlfriend appears

**Author's Note:**

> this will be easier to read if you read the first part of the series, but it's not necessary
> 
> tw: Mai is working though some internalized transphobia and lesbophobia, but everyone in the story is accepting and it ends happily.

\-----

Mai sucks the creamy foam off the coffee stirrer and chucks it into the trashcan next to the table.

 

“You know, it’s good that all my friends are trying to protect me by keeping me away when Marik comes over. If they didn’t he might find out I’m dating his sister.”

 

Ishizu laughs, voice slightly distorted through the cell phone.

 

“Where did they send you this time?”

 

“To Starbucks. But the closest one is supposedly closed so I had to drive across town.”

 

She makes a soft little hum, the sound that Mai’s come to know as her thinking noise.

 

“You know, I’m not that far away right now...”

 

A few minutes later, Ishizu steps out of a sleek black car, her chauffeur holding the door for her. Her heels click on the concrete and the bundle of necklaces around her neck sway with her hips as she approaches. Every eye in the coffeeshop turns to her as she enters. Mai smirks; Ishizu has a sort of purity around her that often hides how much raw star power she has. That’s part of why they get on so well: they share a love for fashion, striking fear and admiration into all who look upon them, and nice cars.

 

Ishizu leans down for a kiss and when she pulls away, her lips are smeared with Mai’s purple lipstick. She takes a seat and swipes a drink of Mai’s latte without asking. Mai lets her, opting instead to focus on winding an arm around her waist. Ishizu smirks and leans in to kiss her again, the sweetness of the coffee lingering on her lips.

 

\-----

 

Mai looks up from the salad she’s ordered. She seems like she’s had a flash of insight. The sudden movement makes Ishizu stop sipping her soup and pay attention to what her girlfriend is about to say. Her brows creases as she speaks:

 

“Should we tell them?”

 

She sounds like she's just read her own death sentence. Ishizu senses this might be a sensitive spot, so she needs to proceed with caution. She keeps her voice calm, doesn’t let Mai’s fear affect her.

 

“We can, if you want.”

 

Mai sets her fork down with a clatter, looking sick to her stomach. 

 

“I want to, because I’m proud of you, and I hate hiding who I am, and I love my friends and want to trust them but...what if they hate me? What if they hate us? I can’t stand losing them!”

 

Ishizu sets her own utensil down. Mai obviously has some deep set fears that are tearing at her, and they need to be dealt with. But she has to be careful not to invalidate Mai’s feelings; that will only make her more defensive.

 

“Why do think they won’t accept us? They are all engaged in queer relationships of their own.”

 

Mai buries her head in her hands.

 

“I know but...we’re lesbians!”

 

Ishizu nods.

 

“Yes we are. Is that somehow different from their relationships?”

 

Mai gasps for breath, visibly distressed. Ishizu wants to ease off, but letting this fester will only make it worse. It needs to be dealt with.

 

“It isn’t different to me, but to some people it is! Especially because...”

 

“Because?”

 

“Because I’m trans.” 

 

Ishizu feels her calm weaken and leans over to wrap her arms around Mai, holding her close and rocking her like a child. Mai presses her face into Ishizu’s neck, her tears wetting her skin.

 

“Mai, they would never judge you for that. After all, are Atem and Ryou not nonbinary?”

 

“Yes, they are...”

 

Izhisu sighs, presses a kiss to Mai’s forehead.

 

“We have to do something, Mai. This has been eating at you from the inside, hasn’t it? Telling them may hurt you but hiding it is killing you slowly.”

 

Mai sniffles, looks up at Ishizu, and presses a reverent kiss to her palm.

 

“I can do anything as long as you’re with me, my love.”

 

\-----

 

Mai kicks the gameshop door open, hands full with trays of coffee, careful to hit the wooden frame rather than the fragile glass panes. Ishizu sighs behind her and folds her arms disapprovingly.

 

“I could have gotten it for you, Mai.”

 

Mai grins at her and gives her a wink. Ishizu never manages to stay mad at her for long.

 

“You could have, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to indulge my flair for the dramatic.”

 

Mai struts into the kitchen, sets the trays down and yells up the stairs that she’s back, all the while ignoring Tristan, Bakura, and Marik frozen at the kitchen table. Only once she’s grabbed her cup and sat down do they recover. Tristan stutters, tries to speak, his eyes flitting between her and Marik as if she’s going to break into tears when she sees him.

 

“M-mai—”

 

She scoots the chair back with a loud screech and sets her feet up on the table, the leather of her boots groaning as she crosses her legs at the ankle.

 

“Guys, I appreciate your concern. But I’m  _ fine _ , okay? I can be near him without breaking down.”

 

She watches Marik’s shoulders slump, his body relaxing with her words. He had been worried.

 

She lets out a laugh a little too raw, a little too bitter, to fit the “fine” image she’s trying to project. She gestures towards him with her drink, the coffee sloshing with the movement, and bites out:

 

“See? That’s not him. If it was him, he wouldn’t have been concerned like that. If it was him, he would have been drooling at the thought of me freaking out.”

 

Marik ducks his head, bangs shadowing his eyes, secondhand shame slipping across his face. The spirit sitting next to him wraps a comforting arm around his shoulders, the soft movement at odds with what she knows of him.

 

Mai forces false cheer into her voice and decides to quickly change the subject.

 

“So! Guess who I brought!”

 

Izhisu steps out of the shadows, perfectly on time. Mai smirks. As much as Ishizu frowns at Mai’s antics, she’s got just as much of a taste for the dramatic as Mai does.

 

In his chair, Marik suddenly sits up very straight. It’s the first time Mai has ever seen him look afraid.

 

Ishizu sits down and gives him a gentle smile before beginning to speak, her voice soft and filled with love:

 

“Marik, your math teacher told me you skipped class on monday.”

 

Marik squirms under her kind but inescapable gaze, looking like he wants to make a run for it.

 

“I know you’re having trouble adjusting, brother. But if you want to live in the upper world, you have to finish high school. That’s what we agreed on, right?” 

 

Marik curls in on himself, looking impossibly young.

 

“Sister, I want to try, but it’s so boring and pointless! And they treat me like a child!”

 

Mai smothers the urge to jeer that he is a child. Taking all her anger at the evil marik out on this one won’t do her any good. And she is an adult, in a group of teens. She can’t let herself forget how young they are, how much damage she could do to them if she isn’t careful. So she lets her cruelty sit in her head and sips her drink to keep it from coming out.

 

The spirit speaks, looking nervous at addressing not only Ishizu, who is formidable in her own right, but also his boyfriend’s sister.

 

“Would it help if he transfered into my class? Maybe having us around would make school more tolerable.”

 

Tristan shoulders him and whispers, voice full of laughter:

 

“Are you sure you won’t distract him?”

 

The spirit smirks and shoves back.

 

“It won’t be me, it’ll be Ryou. Although I’m sure he’ll let me borrow his body for some of those sloppy hallway makeouts that you’re so fond of.”

 

Tristan sputters, face turning red.

 

“He said you went away when we did that!”

 

The spirit leans forwards, a splitting grin on his face.

 

“He  _ lied. _ ”

 

Then, with one last cackle, he retreats into their mind and returns control to Ryou. Tristan throws a storm of curses at him and challenges him to come back out, which he does not. Marik watches with a affectionate smile, eventually muttering and shaking his head:

 

“What an  _ asshole. _ ”

 

Ryou finally calms Tristan down and, between fits of giggles, assures him that the spirit was just messing with him.

 

“He ethier respects our privacy, or he doesn’t get his dates with Marik, okay? That’s what we agreed, and he’s not going to break his promise.”

 

Tristan grumbles and leans back into his chair, trying to look calm, but with his embarrassment is still clear. Then, suddenly, he snaps back to attention.

 

“Wait a second...if he's not aware when we do stuff, how did he know about the hallway?”

 

Ryou covers his mouth with his hand but doesn't manage to silence his laughter.

 

“I may have told him. We like to gossip together!”

 

Tristan gives him a betrayed look.

 

Ishizu, who has been watching with amusement, gently steers the conversation back to Marik’s school issues. They eventually decide that Marik is transferring. Maybe? By that time Mai is ignoring the conversation and watching Ishizu’s lips move instead. She’s not going to interrupt by kissing her, so she slides her fingers into her soft hair and starts braiding it to hold herself over.

 

\-----

 

They’ve migrated into the living room and flipped on a movie. Most of the rest of the house has joined them, so Mai decides it’s time to make her move. She makes sure to catch Marik’s eye, and then swings her legs into Ishizu’s lap and pulls her into a deep kiss.

 

She’s trying to be a responsible adult but she’s still got to get her revenge somehow, okay?

 

Once she pulls out of the kiss she mutes the movie, snaps her fingers for everyone’s attention, and yells:

 

“We’re dating!”

 

Before anyone can reply, she flips the movie back on and stares at it so that she doesn’t have to see anyone else’s face. Ishizu sighs and cuddles closer, wordlessly assuring Mai that it’s going to be okay.

 

They watch the movie, and no one says anything. Once the movie is over and people are splitting off to their rooms, they receive a few congratulations. Then everyone is gone, and it wasn’t a big deal. Mai lets out a screech of joy, and presses Ishizu up against the wall, kissing her breathless. Ishizu kisses back, grinning at how ecstatic Mai is.

 

“I told you it would be okay, my love.”


End file.
